Harry was in the office early the next morning, typing up the notes on his meeting with Bingo while it was still fresh in his mind. Then he sent them to Bertie.
When Bertie came in, he said, “I sent you what Bingo told me. When you get it all together, we’ll give the boys copies. Reading it might trigger another memory.”
She laughed. “Good morning to you, too. Why are you so obsessed with this?”
He shook his head. “I’m not sure, but something tells me there’s more here than meets the eye.”
“Relax,” she said as she sat down. “I’m sure everything will work out fine.”
“We’ll see,” he said. “They’ll be here for ten.”
By the time Marty, Shorty and Spence arrived, Harry was determined to check out the Isaacs house and they were all in agreement.
“Why the flashlights?” Marty asked.
“Probably no power out there now,” Harry said. “What do you guys think happened to Mr. Isaacs?”
“In debt up to his eyeballs and skipped out,” Spence said.
“In debt, yes,” Shorty agreed, “but I think it was more because of what he was dealing with.”
“What do you mean?” Marty asked.
“Smuggling illegal artifacts and running from the law.” Shorty shrugged. “It was rumoured.”
“Rumours don’t count unless proven,” Harry said.
“True,” Marty agreed, with a nod. “But I could see Isaacs getting into such things, especially if the profit was big enough…”
“Yeah, he was a greedy so-and-so,” Spence said.
“Okay,” Harry said. “One-thirty at the Isaacs estate.”
“How are we going to get inside?” Shorty asked.
“I have a key,” Spence said. “My company did some work for him, and he told me to keep it for future jobs, but then he split.”
“Perfect,” Harry said. “See you later.”
********************
Parking the vehicles beside the highway, they set out. Cracks in the old concrete driveway were filled with clumps of moss and weeds. Birds chirped and squirrels chattered at them from the huge old trees. When they reached the front door, Harry looked at Spence. “Unlock it.”
Spence unlocked the door and pushed it open slowly, as if expecting to see Isaacs’ ghost. Harry took a step forward, testing the floor as he went, but it felt solid. The other three followed behind.
“What exactly are we looking for?” Shorty whispered loudly.
Harry chuckled. “No need to whisper. Ghosts don’t roam in daylight. Keep your eyes open for anything that looks wrong or out of place.”
“Like what?” Shorty asked.
“No dust on the floor,” Harry replied as they came to the living room. “Dust sheets look as if they were thrown on the furniture, not spread out to cover.”
“Yeah,” Marty said, “like it was done in a hurry.”
“Unless the place was searched after he was gone,” Harry said.
The rest of the ground level was the same. The floor was clean, which Harry thought was strange. One door was locked, so they moved on to the second and third floors.
